Hi people, the scores are in........
Hattons were unable to answer my query and put me in touch with DCC Concepts in Oz. I exchanged several e-mails with Rand Cooley (despite his location he is actually American) who was very friendly and helpful.
The decision to make the setting up codes 197 - 199 was not arbitrary but neither was it technical. It was made for the convenience of users of the most popular DCC systems who may well have been using all the numbers in the lower regions already. I have apologised to Rand for suggesting they had not done their homework.
The initial batch of ip motors did have the self-centering ON by default, which did require turning off before an operating address could be set, so my earlier comment, that DCC use by Dynamis users was not possible, was fair comment. However, to assist Dynamis (and Select) users, subsequent batches are being produced with the motors physically centered at the factory but the self-centering command is OFF by default. It is no longer necessary for anyone to enter 198, and power off and on again, before setting an operating code, just connect the power and follow your system's instructions and do it. . (Confusingly the instructions in the box and on the website still say self-centering is On by default)
Obviously it is still not possible to reverse the direction of throw from a Dynamis unit but, hey, half a loaf and all that. Dynamis users will therefore be able to set a code.
The instructions seemed to suggest that having set a code, and moved the motor, self-centering will no longer be available if your system cannot access code 199 to turn it on again. Not so. To quote Rand : "You can still put the motors back to centre manually by simply cutting power to the motor mid-run and the arm will be at centre again. So you don't have to be reliant on the 199 function ."
So, my assumption that because every time I put 198 into my handset it instantly reverted to 098 (I knew it would because I had read the instruction book) and the Cobalt instructions appeared to say I needed to use that code before setting an address, I believed I was stumped.
Having been informed by Rand that current batches on the market should have the self-centering OFF by default, I wired up a motor and simply entered a code of my choice and low and behold it worked.
If I had read the instructions on the web-site first, as some people so tactfully told me I should have done, and believed what they appeared to be telling me, I would not have bought the motors, which it now turns out I can use in DCC mode and they appear a much simpler and economical way of getting slow action motors without the need for separate accessory decoders (I would have needed six) and a 12v DC power supply, in addition to your basic DCC controller.
Unfortunately the first motor I accessed and tested quickly began to malfunction. Having described the symptoms to Rand he has informed me I can return it to Hattons for replacement. Hopefully it is a one off and all the others will be fine - the second one does seem to work brilliantly. I was concerned that if I tested them all straight away I would not be able to re-centre them for fitting when I have finished the track laying and wiring, but that problem was answered by Rand as above.
So, rather like a Shakespeare play, there have been a few twists in the tale but as the old Bard says "All's well that ends well" and as my boyhood hero, PC George Dixon, used to say "Mind how you go."
Regards to all
Kendo